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960510
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Benazir now sure of Indias hand in blasts
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Alfred de Tavares
STOCKHOLM, May 9: Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in an interview with
Swedish TV-4 news channel, directly held India responsible for the latest
bombings and other chronic political violence in Pakistan saying. It is to
turn the world attention from the ongoing farce that is called democratic
elections in Kashmir.
Thereby she changed the intensity of her charges giving rise to speculation
that she had received some definite information from home during the day.
In the morning, meeting with a Press-pool at the Haga Castle, Ms Bhutto,
had refrained from naming India, and had not connected it with the recent
bombings.
We have problems in Karachi, she had told a questioner, and they are
stirred up by a neighbour.
Ms Bhutto said: The tensions between India and Pakistan are a reality,
even though there exists no immediate threat of a war. But as a mother I
hate the thought that my children should grow up in the shadow of nuclear
weapons.
Responding to the question that neither India nor Pakistan had, as yet,
ratified the Nuclear non-proliferation Treaty, Ms Bhutto said peaceably:
No, unfortunately that is no. However, I have hopes that with Swedish
assistance we will achieve a nuclear-free zone in South Asia.
She also held India responsible both for the cold war between the two
countries and risks for nuclear-weapons war in the region.
This threat greatly increases if the Hindu nationalist party, the BJP,
wins the just finished parliamentary elections. According to an electoral
manifesto, the BJP said that it would test a nuclear device. It is like
receiving a cold shower whenever one seeks to believe in the promises that
India gives.
Ms Bhutto also showed her understanding of the problems faced by India and
Indian Polity: India finds itself in an enormous stage of transition. From
a state-controlled economy towards a new liberalising. That is bound to be
a difficult period for the Indians.
But she also, pragmatically, accepted that India is not responsible for all
Pakistani woes and enumerates the domestic problems: First comes economy,
with inflation and budget deficiency. Then the low development of human
resources, with just 27% of Pakistans population being able to read. To
remedy this situation, she proudly announces an ambitious plan to provide
10,000 schools every year.
The third problem is said Ms Bhutto, the population explosion. Pakistan
has 133 million people compared to 500 million in Europe and 700 million in
India. She quickly accepted when corrected that Indias crosses 900
million.
On democracy in Pakistan, the Prime Minister said: The armed forces have,
now, come to realise that only a democratic Pakistan can command respect
around the world. However, the Pakistani democracy continues to be
perilously threatened by elements among the bureaucrats and the military as
well as the religious parties, which enjoy neither support nor following
among the people.
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960513
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Pakistan also armed Bosnia, claims WP
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Shaheen Sehbai
WASHINGTON, May 12: Pakistan has been named as one of the several allies of
the United States which supplied arms to Bosnia in addition to Iran, at a
time when an arms embargo was in force.
The Washington Post said in a front-page report on Sunday that Pakistan,
Brunei, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Hungary and Argentina were the
other countries which violated the embargo with a wink from the Clinton
administration.
The issue is now under intense investigation by Congress and is set to
become a hot election issue as the probe is to continue until November when
the presidential elections take place.
US officials learned in 1992 than Iran had opened a smuggling route to
Bosnia with the assistance of Turkey, two years before a controversial
decision by President Clinton to give Croatia a diplomatic green light for
the shipments, national security adviser Anthony Lake said on Friday.
Bosnian government officials said that by 1993, arms or money for arms
purchases also were being supplied through the Turkish pipeline by Saudi
Arabia, Malaysia, Brunei and Pakistan, and that other weapons shipments
came from Hungary and Argentina.
US officials knew of most of the arms shipments but took no action,
despite Clintons public support for a United Nations-sponsored arms
embargo against Bosnia, Croatia, and the other nations of the former
Yugoslavia. That policy marked a break with the Bush administration, which
strongly protested when an Iranian plane flew into Zagreb in September,
1992 with 4,000 assault weapons, prompting Croatia to impound the cargo.
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960514
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Tragedy near Khairpur 45 feared dead as bus falls into canal
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Shamim Shamsi
SUKKUR, May 13: At least 45 passengers of a bus, including women and
children, are feared to have drowned in Rohri Canal, near Therhi in
Khairpur district, after the vehicle, on way from Khairpur to Sukkur,
plunged into the canal.
The accident took place after the tie-rod of the bus broke and the driver
of the ill-fated bus, Gul Shah, lost control over the steering. The bus
after colliding against the railing of the bridge fell into the canal.
The ADM of Khairpur told Dawn on telephone that the bus had been taken out
of the canal, and water had been blocked near Tando Musti to retrieve the
bodies of the victims. He said the irrigation department had closed the
canal gates within an hour of the accident and the water level was
gradually falling.
Personnel of the rescuing party told this correspondent at the site of the
incident that the bus driver, Gul Shah, and cleaner Sanaullah Phulpoto,
after learning that the tie-rod had broken jumped out of the moving bus.
Both of them were not traceable.
The extent of the tragedy, which is believed to have been the biggest in
the area, could have been much less if adequate rescue and relief measures
were taken promptly, local people said.
Eye witnesses told this correspondent that the bus was over-loaded and some
passengers were also travelling on the roof of the bus when the tragedy
occurred.
Soon after the accident officials of district administration assisted by
police and rangers rushed to the site of the accident and attempts began
for the rescue of survivors and recover bodies of the dead. Villagers and
irrigation staff also joined rescue operation which started at about 4 pm,
an hour after the incident.
This correspondent saw only a couple of boats and a few divers taking part
in the rescue operation. The crane which was brought to the site to salvage
the bus could not be mobilised for more than one hour after the accident.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people from the adjoining villages, including the
relatives of the bus victims, were sitting helpless on the canal bank and
the atmosphere was extremely gloomy.
It was learnt that majority of the passengers belonged to Therhi, Baberloi,
Karamabad, Khairpur and Sukkur.
Although 12 bodies had already been recovered, the Khairpur ADM said
identification process would take some time as the entire machinery was
engaged in rescue.
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960511
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Kalabagh dam controversy emerges anew
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R.M.U. Suleman
In recent weeks, Kalabagh dam polemics have emerged in a manner that marks
the fresh launching of a vital project. Federal Minister Khar and the
Punjab Chief Minister Nakai have described the project as a matter of life
and death and President Leghari has forcefully backed it, but emphasised
the dams energy role.
These assertions have not gone uncontested from the smaller provinces.
Chief Minister Sherpao has called it damaging to the NWFP and dubbed it a
dead horse due to the investment focus of the World Bank having shifted
decisively from big projects and big dams to drainage and other small
projects. Mumtaz Bhutto, the Sindhi nationalist, has just claimed that the
dam will start the inexorable process of turning his province into a
desert. Balochistan is also not happy.
Prime Minister Bhutto has remained completely silent on the issue for there
is no rational economic issue more as a balance between sanity and madness.
No economic issue has portrayed Pakistan more as a fragile republic,
questioned and attacked from different sides since its very inception.
Kalabagh dam has already brought to the fore an upstream - downstream
conflict of almost international dimensions. The issues highlighted are
displacement, sedimentation, seismic safety and general environmental
hazards.
Financing
The central point of the whole debate is financing. If the project is to
take off, it needs very strong support from IMF, the World Bank and other
international donors. These donors are all opposed to the project seemingly
on environmental grounds, but really by the new theology of privatisation
and unbridled private sector development.
IMFs Changed stance
The IMF has developed a new philosophy against big dams based on
displacement of people, water-logging and damage to the environment. On the
contrary, said President Leghari, the World Bank was itself supporting
electricity generation through thermal and coal-fired plants and has set up
a fund for this purposed. But thermal power is far less environment-
friendly. President said Pakistan has untapped hydel resources and can
produce 30,000 MW of hydel power against its present electricity generation
of a little more than 6,000 MW but no one is helping us to tap 30,000 MW
power potential on Indus.
You cannot adopt this environment religion of World Bank preaching. Every
country has its own priorities. The President said adding that the
electricity consumption gap between the rich and the poor countries was
constantly widening.
Threatened habitats
With the present level of marginalisation of the local people, whose
habitats are threatened by submersion, adequate and satisfactory
compensation and rehabilitation may continue to be elusine. There is no
doubt that in an era characterised by growth of free market and
privatisation official policy for land acquisition should not be driven by
colonial instruments like the Land Acquisition Act. Instead market value
and individual agreements should be the basis for such process. Such a
step, however, is sure to push up the cost part of the project.
The opposition to Kalabagh dam from the lower riparian Sindh is the most
bitter. It is widely believed there that if the dam is built the forests in
the province, including the mangroves, will be destroyed and the Kacha and
Delta lands would become barren. According to Dr. Shag, the famous
Hyderabad hydraulics expert, it was not correct that Southern Punjab was
getting dry dur to Pack of water and Sindh was floating on a lake due to
excess of water.
Fresh Indus water flowing into the Arabian Sea is no wastage, adds Dr.
Sohag. It is considered essential for the growth of mangroves, maintenance
of riverine forests, replenishment of ground water reserves and control of
sea water intrusion into the domains of fresh water.
Dr. Yaqoob Bhatti, another hydraulics expert has countered all the
objections raised by Dr. Sohag. Anxiety that Sindh will turn into a desert
is countered by asserting that dams do not consume any water. Instead, they
store water during flood seasons and then supply it to support irrigation
during the dry Rabi period. Due to Tarbela dam, diversion to Sindh, he
asserted, had increased from 10.7 to 15.2 maf.
Sailaba area in Sindh, Dr. Bhatti added., was a mere 66,000 acres and its
water supplies will not be locked. He discounted all possibility of sea
water intrusion. Mangrove forests, according to him, cover an area of
320,000 acres and 95 per cent of the tree population there consisted of
salt-tolerant varieties. The real threat to mangroves were seen as arising
from over-grazing and tree cutting due to extreme population pressure.
A decade of discussions by politicians and engineers have failed to produce
consensus on Kalabagh dam. The issue should now be thrown open for the
people to discuss and decide.
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960514
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Tehrik will end all VIP perks if comes to power
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Staff Reporter
KARACHI, May 13: Former cricket hero Imran Khan said on Monday that his
newly-formed Tehrik-i-Insaf (Movement for Justice) after organising itself
into a political party would purge the countrys political system after
sweeping national elections in 1998. It would also end perks to politicians
like foreign medical treatment and abolish VIP lounges at the countrys
airports, he said.
Mr Khan criticised Prime Minister Benazir Bhuttos recent CNN interview and
said the situation in the country was completely different from what she
was telling the international media.
Anyone in the country can see there is corruption everywhere and yet the
Prime Minister tells CNN there is no corruption. Nobody is fooled by these
stories, he said.
I know its [politics] a really difficult task. I expect that the young
people of the country will be in the forefront of this movement because
they feel helpless and frustrated at what they see being done to the
countrys resources by the ruling elite, he said.
I dont understand why the government spends so much money on expensive
Mercedes and huge state-owned palaces when the countrys social indicators
are ranked among the lowest by the UN. The small ruling class which your
tax money puts up never sends its children to government schools, never
goes to a government hospital for treatment. Only if they waited in long
lines like everybody else at government offices would they realise how bad
it is for ordinary citizens, he said.
Mr Khan said a team was at work on a comprehensive party constitution, and
manifesto was already under way. He declined to give any specific names of
people who might have already become involved in the Tehrik.
These are names most people wouldnt know of because they are part of the
silent majority. But let me tell you, they are people who can deliver.
Mr Khan said overseas Pakistanis several of whom he had met during the
Shaukat Khanum hospitals fund-raising were another group which wanted to
use its immense talent and economic clout to invest in the country but
had always been discouraged by the corruption they faced here.
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960512
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US speaks of Chinas assurance to end supplies
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Shaheen Sehbai
WASHINGTON, May 11: China has promised to stop all nuclear co-operation
with Pakistan including shipments for the Kahuta and Khushab facilities, US
officials claimed on Saturday after Fridays announcement that no sanctions
would be imposed against China or Pakistan on the ring magnets issue.
These unidentified officials were extensively quoted by the US media as the
administrations decision evoked a mixed response on the Capitol Hill, with
President Clinton saying he was delighted and his rival Bob Dole accusing
the administration of being too slow.
To many observers, however, the decision not to impose sanctions did not
come as a surprise as the administration had dropped broad hints in the
past few weeks that evidence collected by the US was not enough to take
such a major political step that would have created more problems for the
US businesses than the Chinese.
US officials tried to present the Chinese statement issued as result of the
negotiations as a major success but Pakistani sources said the statement
contained nothing that could be of any concern to Islamabad as China is a
trusted and reliable friend, proved to be so over decades.
Washington Post quoted officials as saying that Beijings new pledge meant
that Chinese companies would not supply more such magnets to Pakistan and
China would have to halt other assistance to the Kahuta facility, as well
as to a separate Pakistani reactor being constructed at Khushab.
China further agreed to hold consultations with the United States on
policies for controlling exports of nuclear-related equipment so that
questionable nuclear equipment is not shipped to foreign purchasers.
These commitments were precisely what we would have sought as a basis to
remove sanctions had it been necessary to impose sanctions, State
Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said.
One US official predicted Chinas new pledge to suspend assistance would
cause a lot of dismay and unhappiness in Islamabad, which had counted on
buying more magnets from China. But he conceded Pakistan probably could
build the magnets itself.
But Pakistan sources dismissed the observations saying China had not
promised anything in its public statement which it had not been saying
before.
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960515
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Early start of transit trade stressed
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M. Ziauddin
ASHKABAD, May 14: The heads of the ECO member states called upon the member
countries to focus attention on transport and communication, trade and
energy sectors to accelerate the process of regional economic co-operation
and to make them meaningful.
The summit urges the member governments to ensure their participation and
speedy implementation of projects in priority areas envisaged in the ECOs
plans of action by including them in their respective national plans or
through bilateral and regional arrangements, a communique issued at the
end of the ECO summit said.
The two-day summit, attended by 10 member countries, was reduced to one day
after the heads of the member states passed the recommendations of the
Eminent Persons Group adopted by the council of ministers at its meeting
held on May 11. The next meeting of the council will be held in Izmir in
autumn 1996 to sign the Treaty of Izmir.
The communique called for the early establishment of ECO institutions on
the basis of agreements signed during the third ECO summit and expeditious
implementation of the ECO transit trade agreement by finalising transit
regulations including mutually-agreed customs procedures within the region
in accordance with the international conventions as well as multilateral
transit agreements signed by the member states.
The plan envisages access to adequate seaport facilities for landlocked
countries of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan through Iran, Pakistan and Turkey, with
priority to transit roads connecting Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and
Uzbekistan with the port city of Karachi and Gwadar through Afghanistan.
The heads of states noted with satisfaction the proposed gas and oil
pipeline network in the region with priority to the construction of a gas
pipeline from Turkmenistan to Europe via Iran and Turkey, and Iran to
Pakistan. They observed that other member countries could also use these
pipelines for their exports.
The communique recommended that keeping in view the ECOs existing
preferential tariffs arrangement, the possibility of progressive removal of
trade barriers within the ECO region should also be considered. However,
for this purpose the experiences of other regions, global economic trends
and international commitments should also be taken into account.
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960515
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10 UBL officials including MNA arrested
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Staff Reporter
KARACHI, MAY 14: In a first major move after the State Bank took over
management control of the sinking United Bank some three weeks ago, the
Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested ten officials and staff
members, including the union chief and the ruling party MNA from Karachi
Abdul Aziz Memon.
We are going to arrest about a dozen more who include senior executives
within next 24 hours, the director-general of the FIA Rahman Malik told
newsmen at a Press conference while indicating a countrywide sweep.
Called hurriedly, on hardly four hours notice after morning newspapers
published reports of rangers deployment at the UBL head office including
the UBL Presidents office and many branches in the city late on Monday
night the Press conference was addressed by the State Bank Governor Dr
Mohammad Yaqub, who anticipating counter moves from the UBL Labour Union,
warned that any miscreant will be picked up and dealt accordingly.
Rehman Malik initially refused to divulge the name of persons arrested as
he explained We are making a countrywide sweep and would release names of
all arrested persons tomorrow, but later on insistence of the journalists
confirmed the arrest of Abdul Aziz Memon.
He said Memon has been charged under 409 and 419 PPC and section 16 and 17
of PPO 1969. Arrest has been made on complaint of UBL President under FIR
No 5/96. Memon has been accused of misappropriation of Rs 100 million and
would need surety bond of Rs 200 million if he moves to the court to obtain
release.
This is just the first FIR and as the ongoing investigation reveals more
information, further FIRs will be lodged, a senior official of the FIA,
who assisted Rahman Malik, said.
Earlier, the State Bank Governor, Dr Mohammad Yaqub charge-sheeted Aziz
Memon and his accomplices in the UBL for taking over control of 180 to 190
vehicles of the bank whose bills for petrol consumption and over-time
payment of drivers were being collected at gun point, and employing ghost
workers.
Accusing them of extortion he charged them of causing a loss of Rs 680
million to Rs 690 million every year to the UBL.
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960513
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PSDP may not get any increase in budget
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Ihtashamul Haque
ISLAMABAD, May 12: The authors of the new budget have expressed inability
to give even a five per cent increase in the Public Sector Development
Programme (PSDP) for 1996-97 and have recommended only the last year level
of Rs96.5 billion because of the acute funding position of the federal
government.
The officials maintained that if at all the conditionalities of the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) were to be met, then it was simply
difficult to offer any increase in the PSDP. They said that since the
government had been forced to achieve 4 per cent budget deficit of the GDP
and bank borrowing ceiling of Rs39 billion (both from the State Bank and
other banking sources) for the next fiscal, it was almost impossible to
enhance the size of the next PSDP.
Now it all depends on the prime minister and she too is not likely to
concede much and may allow maximum Rs3 to 4 billion increase in the
proposed PSDP, said a senior official. He told Dawn that the budget-makers
were perturbed how to manage resources to fund the next budget, including
the PSDP.
The deputy chairman of planning commission is said to have proposed that
without allowing at least 10 per cent increase keeping in view the rate of
inflation and price-hike, it will be difficult to cover most of the
development schemes. The priority committee of the ministry of finance has
regretted to fund thousands of the development schemes and thus proposing
almost same size of the PSDP for the next year.
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960511
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Plunderers of national wealth will be taken to task
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Intikhab Amir
PESHAWAR, May 10: Imran Khan, chief of the Tehrik-i-Insaaf (Movement for
Justice), said that after coming to power, the movement would eliminate the
VIP culture from the country and make accountable the plunderers of the
national exchequer.
Addressing his first public meeting in the NWFP at a village in the
outskirts of Nowshera, some 50 kilometres from Peshawar, Mr Khan reiterated
that the movement would be concentrating on its single point agenda of
ensuring justice for all in the country.
He said the rulers had failed to resolve the peoples problems and the
country needed a new political party with true representatives of the
people to bring a positive change a change for justice.
Since the inception of Pakistan, the Tehrik-i-Insaaf chief said, no one had
been made accountable for his or her misdeeds but, after coming to power,
the movement would make accountable the corrupt and those found guilty of
plundering the national wealth.
Giving his agenda after coming to power, he said merit would strictly be
followed, especially for the government functionaries and in his
organisational set-up.
He said as change could not be brought about without going to the
parliament, the movement would contest the next general elections.
Terming joblessness as one of the main problems of the country, he said
youths were not given their due rights and for that matter, he added, the
prevailing VIP culture would be eliminated from the country where all the
high cost residential palaces of the elite would be converted into schools
and colleges so that a healthy and fair society could be established.
The Tehrik-i-Insaaf chief said he did not believe in hollow slogans and
would never make such claims which could not be given practical shape.
During his speech, he said the minimum age limit for voters would be
brought down to 18 years instead of prevailing 21 years, and the change
would be made according to the Constitution.
He said complete programme and manifesto of the movement would be prepared
within three to five years and the situation would be clearer then.
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960515
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Feudalism main obstacle in economic progress
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Masood Haider
NEW YORK, May 14: Pakistan has the prospects of a bright economic future
provided it sheds the shackles of embedded feudalism and reforms its
colonial infrastructure to conform with the realities of the emerging new
economic orders.
So observed most of the speakers at a seminar on Pakistan: contemporary
conflicts and realities at the Columbia University on Sunday, organised by
an organisation of technocrats and professionals called Friends of
Pakistan.
Dr Nadeemul Haque, an economist working for International Monetary Fund
credited the so-called informal sector in Pakistan for keeping countrys
economy afloat despite drawbacks of inconsistent and uncertain economic
policies of successive governments.
But, the speaker who drew most applause and standing ovation from a crowd
of over 300 Pakistanis, cramped in a small auditorium was professor Eqbal
Ahmed.
Prof Ahmed essentially blamed Pakistans intelligentsia for the
degeneration and corruption in Pakistan.
While saying that he was optimistic about the future of Pakistan because of
the honesty of its forsaken people, he listed six categories of crisis
facing the nation legitimacy, development, distribution (of wealth),
democracy, integration and culture.
Prof Ahmed observed that the ideological ambivalence pervasive in Pakistani
politics was rooted in its intelligentsias failure to tackle the issue
head-on.
Prof Hasan Askari Rizvi who sits at the Quaid-i-Azam chair, at the South
Asian Institute at the Columbia University expounded on Military and
political dilemma in Pakistan.
Prof Manzooruddin Ahmed, the former vice-chancellor of Karachi University,
spoke about the relevance of ideology of Pakistan then and now.
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960514
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PM favours farm tax, wants IT exemption ceiling raised
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Ihtashamul Haque
ISLAMABAD, May 13: Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto directed the concerned
authorities to avoid massive taxation in the next budget as proposed by
the ministry of finance and the CBR. She was presiding over a meeting held
to discuss budgetary measures for 1996-97.
Informed sources told Dawn that the prime ministers adviser on finance and
economic affairs told the meeting that without resorting to new taxes it
would be simply difficult to achieve 4 per cent GDP budget deficit target.
Nevertheless, sources said the prime minister called for avoiding burdening
the masses with heavy taxes. She agreed that the present weak tax base be
widened by finding out new tax payers specially those who have not been
paying their taxes despite their good financial position. The prime
minister, sources said, favoured the introduction of agriculture tax as was
being demanded by the IMF and the World Bank.
She also favoured increasing the present Rs50,000 ceiling of income tax
exemption for the salaried classes.
Sources said Mr Jafarey told the meeting that 4 per cent GDP budget deficit
target will be achieved during the next fiscal and that tariffs to be
lowered at 55 per cent along with achieving 8 per cent rate of inflation.
The Capital outlay of the budget has initially been fixed at about Rs475
billion compared to current years level of Rs431 billion. But the final
decision will be taken at a NEC meeting to be held on May 30.
Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Kazi Alimullah briefed the meeting on
the Public Sector Development Programme(PSDP) of 1996, seeking to allow
considerable increase over the last year of Rs96.5 billion.
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960513
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Foreign trade gap rises to alarmingly high $2.83bn
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Muhammad Ilyas
ISLAMABAD, May 12: The foreign trade gap of Pakistan rose to an alarmingly
high $2.83 billion during the period July-April of the current financial
year, showing an increase of close to one billion US dollars or 53.1% more
than the corresponding period of 1994-95, according to official statistics.
At the end of July-March, 1995-96, it will be recalled, the imports had
outstripped the exports by $2.690 billion.
The incomplete trade figures, obtained by Dawn unofficially, show, however,
that the gap between exports and imports last month narrowed from $213
million to $156 million of April, 1995. The exports amounted to $810.3
million, 10% more than during the corresponding month of last year when
Pakistan was able to earn $736 million. However, a slight increase of $17
million in imports is indicated. Last month, imports amounted to $966.7
million.
The fact that the rupee depreciated against the dollar by 12.87% from
April, 1995 to April, 1996, may mean that the cascading effect of
devaluation and the slowing down of economy indicated by decline in exports
of value-added items also contributed to the unprecedented trade gap.
This trend is confirmed by a comparison with the statistics in March, 1996.
In that month, exports declined by 4% over last month, while the imports
fell from $1.174 billion to $966 million or by more than 17.66 per cent.
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960514
-------------------------------------------------------------------
CPI shows 10.84% rise during July-April
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Our Correspondent
ISLAMABAD, May 13: An increase of 10.84 per cent has been estimated by the
Federal Bureau of Statistics in the consumer price index for July-April,
1995-96 when compared with the corresponding period of last year.
For the month of April 1996, the FBS estimate of increase in CPI is 11.03%,
as against 10.27% in March 1996.
According to the price data released by the FBS for April, 1996 with 1990-
91 as base, CPI stood at 174.30, showing an increase of 0.81% over the
Index of March, 1996 when it was 172.90.
FBS also released its figures about the Sensitive Price Index (SPI) for the
week ended May 6, 1996, showing an increase of 0.29% over the SPI for the
preceding week.
The SPI, comprising 46 essential commodities with 1980-81 as base, showed
an increase of 9.26% over the corresponding week of last year (on May 6,
1996 over May 7, 1995) as against 15.34% in the previous period (on May 7,
1995 over May 12, 1994).
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960510
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Exporters offered credit insurance facility on PLS basis
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Parvaiz Ishfaq Rana
KARACHI, May 9: The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and
Export Credit (ICIIEC) has offered Export Credit Insurance facility on the
principles of Shariah on profit and loss basis to the Pakistani
exporters.
The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit,
of which Pakistan is also a member, is a subsidiary of Islamic Development
Bank (IDB).
The corporation is initially providing Export Credit Insurance facility to
the exporters of its member countries but plans to offer investment
insurance at a suitable juncture in future.
While carrying out its operations in accordance with the principles of
Shariah, the corporation will endeavour to achieve mutual co-operation of
policy holders through their collective sharing of losses, which any policy
holder may suffer.
Similarly, the corporation will distribute the surplus that may accrue from
the insurance and reinsurance operations to policy holders after meeting
statutory reserve obligations.
The corporation will be strictly excluding cover of contracts for the sale
of goods prohibited under Shariah, as well as interest accruing from export
credit or investment loans, and invest its own funds in accordance the with
Islamic principles.
While fixing eligibility criteria, the corporation has stated that all
Export Credits pertaining to goods exported from a member state to another
member state shall be eligible for insurance provided:
a) The goods the subject of the credit shall have been produced,
manufactured in whole or in part, assembled or reprocessed in one or more
member states, provided that a reasonable value addition will accrue to the
member state, from which such goods are exported.
b) The duration of the credit shall not exceed five years.
Individuals and institutions of member states who could be eligible to
receive the services of the corporation include banks, any person, who is a
national of a member state other than the host country.
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960514
-------------------------------------------------------------------
ECC okays Rs16.8bn energy projects
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ihtashamul Haque
ISLAMABAD, May 13: The Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) of the
cabinet, which met with Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in the chair,
approved five projects worth Rs16.8 billion in the energy sector and
allowed re-export of imported machinery to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and
Maldives.
Commerce Secretary Salman Faruqui said the approval of the projects was
important, but the decision to allow the re-export of machinery which
remained in the use for more than five years in Pakistan was equally vital.
He told Dawn that the government had accepted the request of exporters by
allowing them to re-export their machinery. He said this machinery could be
purchased by many Third World countries, including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka
and Maldives.
We plan to provide unlimited credit line to exporters to import modern
machinery by disposing of the five-year-old one, he said, adding that
suppliers credit and bank credit will be available in this behalf.
Then we have decided to provide 1,500 acres of land to the industrialists
of Faisalabad, Gujranwala and other places in Punjab to set up modern
industrial plants there, he said.
He termed the ECC decision of allowing the re-export of machinery very good
for both the country and the investors. We are sure that this will help us
to increase our exports with all the potentials, the commerce secretary
added.
The following projects were approved. The largest project approved by the
ECC envisaged the construction of a total of 613 kms of 500 KV transmission
lines and allied grid stations for dispersal of power from Ghazi Brotha
Hydropower Project. It will be completed by October 1999 at a cost of
Rs14.1 billion. The second project was the 2nd 220 KV Guddu-Sibbi-Quetta
Transmission Line which would remove the bottlenecks in power transmission
to Balochistan. Involving a cost of Rs2,022 million, the project would be
completed by the end of 1996. The ECC approved another project to upgrade
and modernise the Gas Turbines Repair Workshop at Faisalabad. Under it,
repair facilities at the existing workshop, established in 1982, would be
upgraded to undertake the repair of heavy gas turbines which are presently
sent abroad, thus saving Rs363 million annually in foreign exchange. The
project would be completed by April, 1998 at a cost of Rs364 million. The
ECC approved a project to carry out detailed analysis of energy planning
and related financial data with a view to enhancing governments
capabilities to assess future energy requirement and to draw up feasible
plans to meet them. The project would cost over Rs5 million. The ECC
approved a project to conduct a pre-feasibility study to construct the
1,290 MW Bunji Hydropower plant on Indus river. The study, to be carried
out at a cost of Rs293 million, will be completed by June, 1998.
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960516
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Locally assembled automatic car to roll out in October
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Aamir Shafaat Khan
KARACHI, May 15: The Ghandara Nissan Ltd (GNL) will roll out Pakistan's
first locally assembled, 1,400cc, automatic transmission system car,
'Nissan Sunny' in October.
Besides, the company intends to roll out another gasoline version, 1,400cc,
'Sunny', in the same month, an official of the GNL said. Subsequently, the
company has scheduled to introduce 2,000cc cars in diesel version after the
launching of two models, he added.
'Preparations to roll out the two versions are already underway at the
modern plant, located in the Port Bin Qasim area. The cost of the plant is
Rs 550 mn, having capacity to produce 6,000 cars every year on single shift
basis,' he said.
The official added that the GNL has planned to market the two versions very
shortly.
The two sedans, he said, include additional features like multi link beam
suspension system coupled with electronic concentrated engine control
system.
Automobile analysts believe that the new Sunny will get a good response as
its previous imported models from 1985 to 1987 had captured a sizeable
market share.
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960510
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Stocks recover on strong institutional support
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Commerce Reporter
KARACHI, May 9: After early steep decline on some nervous selling prompted
reportedly by an expected results of the Indian elections and partly to
weekend profit-taking, stocks recovered during the mid-session on strong
institutional support.
An apparent defeat of the Congress or its inability to form a stable
government could well mean a policy change by the new comer and this fact
triggered selling. investors here, most analysts believe.
The KSE 100-share index finally ended around 1,768.17 as compared to
1,761.04 a day earlier, showing a gain of 7.13 points as base shares
subsequently recovered initial losses.
Trading volume failed to pick and was contained below the 20 million shares
mark as both the current favourites, Hub-Power and PTC vouchers were not
traded massively as they are still on the spot list.
Hub-Power did show signs of lively trading during the session but PTC
vouchers were neglected and were removed from the most active list for the
first time after they were listed. Only half a million shares were traded
in the PTC, that too on the lower side, reflecting that there were more
sellers than buyers.
However, Lucky Cement was traded actively and proved itself one of the most
active scrips on active short-covering at the lower levels.
Plus signs, however, dominated the list under the lead of 2nd and 4th ICPs,
which rose by Rs 8 to 20 amid active two-way trading.
They were followed by 8th and 9th ICP, ICP SEMF, Dewan Salman, Shell
Pakistan, Attock Refinery, PSO and Rafhan Maize, which rose by Rs 2.75 to
5.
Losses on the other hand were fractional barring sharp setback in PIC and
Balochistan Glass, which suffered decline ranging from Rs 4.75 to 10.
Other prominent losers were led by Adamjee Insurance, Pakland cement,
Telecard, BOC Pakistan and Century Insurance, falling by one rupee to Rs
1.5.
The Board of Directors of Smith and Kline has announced a maintained
dividend at the rate of 30 per cent for the last year.
The most active list was topped by Lucky Cement, up 50 paisa on 2.979m
shares, followed by Hub-Power, lower 10 paisa on 2.053m shares, LTV
Modaraba, easy 15 paisa on 1.519m shares, Fauji Fertiliser, off 50 paisa on
1.180m shares, D.G.Khan Cement, lower 50 paisa on 0.643m shares, PTC
vouchers down 60 paisa on 0.500m shares and Dewan Salman, higher Rs 2.75 on
0.579m shares. There were several other notable deals also.
Trading volume fell to 17.269 m shares from the previous 17.773m shares
owing to the absence of leading sellers.
There were 285 actives, out of which 117 shares rose, while 104 fell, with
64 holding on to the last levels.
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960516
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Stocks fall across a broad front on hasty selling
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Commerce Reporter
KARACHI, May 15: Stocks fell across a broad front on hasty selling prompted
by news of arrest of some top officials of the United Bank for alleged
irregularities but there were buyers at the dips.
The opening was a bit subdued but there was no nervous selling from any
quarter as the index was down only about 14 points.
However, after mid-session the selling gathered momentum on fears that some
more bank officials might face an identical action, pushing the index down
by 38.96 points at 1,735.45 as compared to 1,774.41 a day earlier.
For the last about four months, the index is fluctuating between 1,550 and
1,750, that is within the range of 200 points contrary to predictions of a
big quantum leap to 2,000 points, he added.
But the interesting feature was that there were buyers at the falling
prices, signalling that the reaction is temporary and the bulls could fight
back any time.
Bank shares fell across the board in response to news of UBL operation but
losses were manageable as selling was well-absorbed at the decline. Big
losers among them included Askari Bank, Bank of Punjab, Faysal Bank and
MCB, falling by one rupee to Rs 1.75.
But bulk of the selling was centred around most of the current favourites,
notably Dewan Salman, Dhan Fibre, PTC Vouchers and Hub-Power, which fell in
unison, although there were buyers at the dips.
Cement shares also came in for active selling and fell under the lead of
leading among them, notably Cherat Cement, and Mustehkam Cement.
Insurance sector was, however, an exception, which did not toe the market's
general line of action as most of the leading shares attracted good support
under the lead of Adamjee, Business & General Insurance, Central, IGI and
EFU Insurance, which rose though modestly.
Most of the MNCs played on both sides of the fence amid rolling of
positions from one counter to the other. While PSO, Engro Chemicals and
some others managed to finish higher, Shell Pakistan, ICI Pakistan, Reckitt
and Colman, SK&F and Lever Brothers suffered fall ranging from Rs 1.25 to
6.
Synthetic shares were traded actively as a section of leading operators
took profits at the inflated levels in line with the market's general
behaviour.
The most active list was topped by PTC vouchers, off Rs 1.20 on 12.280m
shares followed by Hub-Power, easy Rs 1.65 on 9.741m shares, Dhan Fibre,
lower 25 paisa on 2.140m shares, and Dewan Salman, off Rs 3.75 on 1.520m
shares.
The other actives were led by Lucky Cement, off Rs 1.20 on 0.844m shares,
ICI Pakistan, easy Rs 1.25 on 0.575m shares, Maple Leaf Cement, down 75
paisa on 0.536m shares, FFC-Jordan Fertiliser lower 90 paisa on 0.506m
shares, and KESC, easy 25 paisa on 0.413m shares. There were some other
notable deals also.
Trading volume rose to 34.817m shares from the previous 22.638m shares
thanks to active profit-selling in the pivotals.
There were 313 actives, out of which 198 suffered decline and 52 rose, with
63 holding on to the last levels.
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960510
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Kaon na baap na jor per?
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ardeshir Cowasjee
IN OUR expressive language, Gujerati, this is the question asked of anyone
who has taken risks and acted stupidly without considering the
consequences. A literal translation: On the strength of whose father have
you acted a question oft asked of a chess player who has moved his queen,
leaving her bereft of support or defence.
I follow on from my column last Friday on the plight of octogenarian
Professor Nusrat Ashraf.
The good news is that contrary to the designs of the abductors, she is not
dead. Although in pain from her fractured femur and other injuries caused
to her when abducted and dumped in a Sabzi Mandi flat and then in Edhis
shelter, she is in good spirits, ready to fight back those who conspired to
deprive her of her home and possessions: Mein muqaddama karungi, she
says.
In the FIR 85/96 filed by Nusrats cousin, Abdul Khaliq, at the Frere Road
Police Station, amongst the 20-30 ransackers and abductors four are named:
Nuzhat Fatima, her brother Faiz Ahmed, Haji Minhal Khan Jatoi, Yousuf
Chandio.
To recap, the day Professor Ashraf was abducted and the breakers commenced
demolishing her house, a conveyance deed for her property was executed. The
sellers named were Faiz Ahmed and Haji Minhal. The buyers were three:
Waseem Yousuf, Mrs Ayesha Jamal (the wife of Brigadier Farouque Afzal) and
Vishandas Versimal.
Of the four named in the FIR, only Nuzhat has so far been arrested, the
other three using their clout, roam free. Chandio hails from a land-owning
family of Sindh. Minhal Khan is a resident of the Royal Duchy of Larkana,
where his family owns the hotels, Gulf and Sapna, reportedly the favourite
watering holes of ministers, MNAs and wealthy citizens on pilgrimage to the
august abode.
Nuzhat, in custody, was produced before Special Terrorist Court Judge Rafiq
Awan on May 6 and has been sent to jail charged under PPC Sections: 147
(rioting), 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapons), 342 (wrongful
confinement), 364 (whoever kidnaps or abducts any person in order that
such person may be murdered...), 427 (mischief, damage to property, etc),
13-D (possession of unlicensed arms).
When Ms Ashrafs abduction, was reported, the police knew where to find
her. She was arrested from Sea Breeze Condominium, flats No. 107/108
belonging to Dr Mustafa Kamal Khan (working in Sharjah) and his sister.
Unlicensed arms and stolen property in Nuzhats possession were also
recovered. Towards the end of last year, when the furnished but unoccupied
flats were opened to the workers, Nuzhat and a group of ten simply walked
in, threw them out, and forcibly occupied the flats. When Dr Khans sister
went to find out what was happening, she was abused and threatened. On
making inquiries, she was told that Nuzhat operated under police
protection. A widow, living alone with her two children, she did not dare
file a complaint with the police.
Later, on learning that Nuzhat has been arrested, Dr Khans sister appealed
to Jameel Yusuf of the CPLC for help to recover the two flats.
Now, to fathom kaon na baap na jor per? on whose strength do the
culprits ride so high?
Chandio and Jatoi are protected by MPAs and ministers. Nuzhat Fatima has a
sister, Rahat Javed, and a brother, Faiz. All claim that they work for our
agencies. Another brother, Shoaib, who operated a gambling den somewhere
in North Karachi, in true Chicago gangster-style, was gunned down in a
barbers shop. The police who arrested Nuzhat, and are now holding her,
have been warned that her godfather, Tariq Lodhi, will provide licences for
the unlicensed arms, and will spring her.
As is well known, Squadron Leader Tariq Lodhi rose to be the Area Traffic
Controller at the PAF base, Quetta. 1988: He managed to get a transfer to
the ISI. 1991: The then DG, General Asad Durrani promoted him. Wing
Commander Lodhi became the Detachment Commander of Islamabad. 1992: End.
Transferred to Karachi. 1993: July. The new DG, General Jawaid Ashraf Kazi
sent him back to PAF Kamra. 1994: Early. PPP 3. Lodhi was recalled to head
the IB at Karachi. 1995: Mid. Was called to the inner sanctum to replace
General Raja Saroop and chair the Research and Analysis Committee of the
PMs secretariat. 1995: End. Though not in the police cadre, he was made
DIG, special branch, at bomb-prone Lahore. He reports directly to Interior
Minister General Naseerullah Babar.
Police Headquarters in Karachi now receives telephone calls from Lodhi in
Lahore on the subject of Nuzhat Fatima, about whose predicament he displays
great concern.
Nusrat Ashrafs demolished home and her plot are guarded by armed men from
Dr Ishtiaqs Muhafiz Security Agency. When I inquired from Ishtiaq as to
who was paying for the guards, he was on the offensive and would give no
names, presumably because he was infringing the Code of Conduct of the All
Pakistan Security Agencies Association, one term of which lays down the
rule that no security company will guard / protect the interests / property
of any parties involved in criminal / civil property disputes. Should,
however, an agency unwittingly become involved, when they do learn about a
dispute, they immediately withdraw their guards. To prove his bona fides,
he announced that he was a nephew of Major-General Majid Malik, who later
denied any family connections.
On May 7, two of the three named buyers of Ms Ashrafs property, Waseem
Yusuf and Vishandas Versimal, and their lawyer Neel Keshav, visited me.
They claimed that they and the Brigadiers wife, Ayesha Jamal, were the
innocent victims of a fraud perpetrated by the sellers. They had seen the
property papers, accepted them as being genuine, and had not suspected foul
play. I addressed myself to Vishandas: Although you wear a shalwar-kameez
and have bootblacked your hair, I see you in a Hindu dhoti and kurta
through which your janoi can be spotted. You are every inch a seasoned
Hindu-Sindhi banya, one of that large hard- working prosperous clan that
proliferated in pre-partition days. Just who would take you to be an
innocent man? I informed him that he had survived in Pakistan, was living
in a penthouse, and asked him whether he knew that land grabbers, house
grabbers, and qabza groups, fake documents.
I told him how our family had been harassed. A band of goondas, helped by
the Keamari police, had broken into and forcibly occupied one of our Mules
Mansions flats, just vacated by an employee of ours, paying no heed to the
protestations of our chowkidars. They went on to file a civil suit against
my father and another, attaching fake documents, one of which bore my
fathers forged signature, stamped and attested by an Additional City
Magistrate, First Class. The goondas (the plaintiffs) stated that they were
in physical possession of the flat, and prayed for a permanent injunction
preventing us from making any effort to dispose of them and repossess our
property.
Vishandas shed his innocent act and pleaded that I, as a senior citizen,
help settle their dispute. They would provide the professor with a flat.
Impossible, I told him. You cannot deprive an old, single, helpless woman
of her family property worth crores, in a desirable area, and then expect
her to be satisfied with taking some sort of a flat in any old area. If the
sellers had defrauded them, they should sue them and get their money back.
As for Professor Ashraf and her property, her cousins (who have cared for
her over the years), I, and other concerned citizens, have already been
soundly advised by sympathetic public-spirited lawyers Sharifuddin Pirzada,
Khalid Anwer, Gilbert Naim-ur-Rahman, Rustom Virjee, Makhdoom Ali Khan and
Shahida Jamil, who have all willingly offered their professional services
and any other assistance to pursue the suit of the distressed professor.
The usurpers of her property will also have to brave the wrath of her
erstwhile colleague, Professor Anita Ghulam Ali, the fiery managing
director of the Sindh Government Educational Foundation.
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960516
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Say no to terrorism
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Benazir Bhutto
MY life has been struck by terrorism in many forms terrorism from
faceless gangs, terrorism sponsored by foreign lands and terrorism by the
hand of a ruthless dictatorship in my own country.
My father, prime minister of Pakistan, was executed by terrorists unleashed
in the name of the state against the common people. It was a loss that
steeled my determination to challenge all forms of terrorism, no matter
under what pretext those acts are committed. To me, terrorism can only be
described as an exhibition of mindless violence against innocent people
there can never be proper justification for such acts.
But that doesn't stop the excuses from being made. Frantz Fanon, in his
book "The Wretched of the Earth", asserts that colonised people can become
whole again by participating in violent politics and that violence used to
create the colonial world can only be destroyed by violence.
What people like Fanon don't understand, however, is that the power of
violence can never match the overwhelming power that comes from the will
and determination of a people. Although it is important to maintain a clear
distinction between terrorism for its own sake and terrorism as part of a
struggle for self- determination, in either case violence is not the
answer.
If developing nations are to overcome the problems facing them, they will
do so through a victory over the hearts and minds of the world, and not the
impact of a bomb.
Oftentimes, Islamic extremism has become synonymous with terrorism. Some
argue that it was the Iranian revolution that began this association in
people's minds. That, however, was not the case. The Iranian revolution was
a reaction against the authoritarian Shah, who was seen by the Iranians as
a "Western" ruler who used torture to crush them. The good that the Shah
did was buried in a sense of betrayal among his people. But this sense of
betrayal and anger toward the West did not translate into the rapid spread
of terrorism that we have seen in the past decade.
Rather, it was the Afghan freedom movement that gave birth to real Islamic
militants across the Muslim world. Trained in religious schools, these
terrorists believed they had single-handedly beaten the Soviet superpower
and that violence could solve any and all problems. It is our duty to prove
that they are mistaken.
When Pakistan opposed the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, our country was
the target of numerous bomb blasts and random killings by terrorist gangs
sent to dissuade us from our position. And, after the Soviet forces had
been removed, "volunteers" who had gone to Afghanistan from other Muslim
countries to fight the Soviets also ended up starting their own brand of
terrorism, using Pakistani soil to stage extremist activities in other
parts of the world.
But Pakistan survived the terrorism of these foreign agents because the
minds and the hearts of our people were strong. We cleaned up Pakistan,
extraditing terrorists and expelling extremists who would shed innocent
blood.
For instance, the city of Karachi my birthplace and a former stronghold
of extremist elements has been made peaceful once more. This success was
not without a price, however, as 250 police and 175 members of my party
lost their lives in the struggle.
Despite these efforts, terrorism, particularly state-sponsored terrorism,
continues to have a hold on our region. Tens of thousands of people in
Jammu and Kashmir, for instance, have been killed at the hands of the
brutal Indian state. "Twenty killed in the valley" is the kind of headline
that has become a daily routine for Kashmir.
Bodies of innocent Kashmiris are discovered daily, brutally tortured and
thrown away with utter disregard by the Indian security forces. Special
laws in Indian-held Kashmir give the Indian security forces licence to
arrest, torture, rape or kill a Kashmiri without any accountability.
This is state terrorism at its most despicable, and because of this, India
has morally and politically lost Kashmir and forced some to turn to
militancy as a means of last resort.
The fundamental truth that will, in the end, lead to our victory over the
forces of terror in this world is this: Terrorism will only anger the
decent and honest people of the world and push them to renew themselves to
the cause.
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960513
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Imran and the cynicism of the chattering classes
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ayaz Amir
AT this stage of his political career, when he has just got off to an
uncertain start, it is all too easy for Imran Khan to attract the cynicism
of the drawing room classes. Quite apart from the fact that the staple
commodity in which these classes deal is cynicism, Imran Khan has added
grist to their mills by exposing himself to the charge of contradiction:
saying things which sit uncomfortably with what he himself was practising
(and practising with some panache) in the past.
This may be an Islamic country but its common people have always been
suspicious of preachers, which is why the so-called Islamic parties have
always fared so badly at the polls. Last year when Imran Khan took to
column-writing (an exercise he has mercifully forsaken) he sounded with his
born-again Islam very much like a preacher. This grated on the public
consciousness all the more when it was remembered that in London and
elsewhere Imran Khan had won as much renown for his cricketing exploits as
for his success how gently can I put this? as a playboy. Someone who is
inordinately successful with the other sex leaves his fellow-men envious.
To entertain feelings of envy for a famous Lothario is bad enough. But then
to see the same person in the guise of a born-again evangelist is to test
ones patience beyond the limits of human endurance.
Imran Khans Brown Sahib philosophy also made him vulnerable to the jibes
of the drawing room classes. Here was as eminent a Brown Sahib as one could
think of Atchison, Oxford and all the other right stops inveighing
against something of which he was very much a part. Furthermore, some of
his thoughts on the drawbacks of representative democracy, the virtues of a
jirga system and the loss of national self-esteem as a result of our
colonial experience gave the impression of naivete: of someone who was
guilty of over-simplification.
But one lives and learns. If people were to be judged only by what they had
done or said once upon a time, few of us would ever Be saved. There was a
time when I genuinely and sincerely considered the Daughter of the East as
the answer to Pakistans problems. If that were to be thrown in my face all
the time, what hope would there be for me? Like other mortals Imran Khan
too has gained from his experiences. It is no small cause for mercy that he
has got over his preaching phase. He also seems to have learnt to be more
discriminating about the company he keeps. I have a lot of respect for
General Hamid Gul but having heard him expound his fanciful theories on a
number of occasions I am convinced that no political enterprise in which he
is involved can ever prosper.
But all this should be behind Imran Khan. There is nothing more pointless
than to live up to the prejudices of Pakistans chattering classes who
trade in cynicism and whose members hate nothing more than to see one of
their own strike out on new paths of discovery. The Pakistani
privilegentsia never forgave Zulfikar Ali Bhutto for speaking in an idiom
(which is all he did) whose harsh sounds it did not like. The chattering
classes are unlikely ever to forget Imran Khans contradictions. This
would matter if these classes were politically important. But for the kind
of politics that Imran Khan is trying to practise they are totally
irrelevant. Their support or opposition will not have any effect, one way
or the other, upon the attitudes of ordinary people because the people have
yet to discover anything about the chattering classes.
Unless Imran has a masochistic streak in him he should keep the revivalist
streak in him and his Brown Sahib philosophy under a close check because
when he talks of these things, which are of absolutely no concern to the
masses, he is merely giving the chattering classes a stick with which to
beat him.
Far better for Imran Khan to stress the other, more substantive part of his
programme: the determination to strike at the roots of corruption; the need
to eradicate the VIP culture which is stifling the nation and playing no
small part in eating up its resources; and the need to give a more just and
fair deal to the people. Whether Imran Khan is the person who can bring
about these changes or infuse the Pakistani people with a fresh spirit or
hope is something which can be open to debate. After all, there has been no
shortage of do-gooders in Pakistan who have promised great things and then
done their bit to add to the nations problems. But about one thing there
should be no dispute: at the present time Imran Khan with his Tehrik-i-
Insaf is the only person on the national scene who is talking of issues of
burning public concern and who, moreover, is doing so in a manner which can
be expected to draw a public response.
Imran Khan today stands for a movement whose aim is to eradicate corruption
and give justice to the Pakistani people (by which presumably is meant the
reform of the police and the criminal justice system because in the
practical world, as opposed to the world of political rallies, it is only
practical steps such as these that lead to practical results). This may
sound like a woolly agenda but at least it is an agenda and it is something
that the people can identify themselves with. Can anyone say what Benazir
Bhutto stands for? If there is an election tomorrow what exactly will she
fight it on? It is all very well to say that she is macro-managing the
economy. But we have seen the fruits of macro-economic management harvested
by the Congress-I in India. People are not impressed by hollow slogans
which have little bearing on their real lives. Macro- management indeed
when rampant inflation and an excessively high unemployment rate are giving
an edge to public discontent. Contrast this with high-level corruption and
the spendthrift and ostentatious ways of the governing classes, and we have
a situation which is crying out for some kind of deliverance.
If Benazir stands for nothing but more of the same, what does Mian Nawaz
Sharif and the PML-N stand for? It is true that Nawaz Sharif by his
defiance of Ghulam Ishaq Khan, and subsequently by dint of sheer energy,
has built a popular constituency for himself and given the Muslim League
(for the first time since 1947-49) a mass political base. But can anyone
answer with any certainty as to what Mian Nawaz Sharif will do, what are
the reforms he will carry out, if he again comes to power? Will Pakistan be
cleaned of corruption? Will a new political morality hold sway over the
country? Will nepotism come to an end and will jobs be given only on the
basis of merit? Will the countrys political masters realise that there is
something called a conflict of interests whereby it is not considered
seemly for public officials to use their official positions to further
their private advantage? Ask any Muslim League stalwart as to what his
party is doing or will do in the future and he will say we are trying to
save the country. Edifying as this answer may be, it is not very helpful
in trying to figure out the nuts and bolts of the Muslim Leagues
programme.
In any case, it is a refrain heard loudly during the last few years that
there is nothing fundamental which distinguishes the PPP and the Muslim
League. They are chips off the same block: mouthing the same slogans and
being represented by people whose class and political background is the
same. If tomorrow there is a change of government, a different set of
people will come to power. But in what other respects will the situation
change? or does the Muslim League have some programmatic aces up its
sleeves that the rest of the nation has yet to discover?
This is a situation in which another alternative is badly needed. Left with
no other choice, the people will vote either for the PPP or the Muslim
League. But it should be apparent even to the most obtuse amongst us that
the people are not enthused by these choices. If they were to have an
alternative to what is in effect a bipartisan dictatorship of mediocrity,
the chances cannot be ruled out that they would plump for it.
There may be many things wrong with Imran Khan the messenger. But there
cannot be much quarrel with his message. Scan the political horizon from
one end to the other and it will be obvious that today if anyone stands for
change it is him. He is talking of things which the other politicos are
not. And he is talking of things which touch the real concerns of ordinary
people. After all, what is at issue is the VIP state whose perks and
privileges will be the death of Pakistan. If anyone with the right brand
name and image (an important consideration in politics) has entered the
lists against this monster, it is Imran Khan. As I say, he may have many
shortcomings (who of us does not?) but then he must be credited with
entering the political arena at the right time and with saying just the
right things. Through his cricketing career and later through his cancer
hospital he has given sufficient proof of his determination. It would be
foolish to underestimate such a man.
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960511
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Out of the shadows
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Mazdak
BACK from my brief holiday in Nathiagali, I masochistically scan the
newspapers to catch up. Usual bombast and hot air. Also mayhem and madness.
But the text of Imran Khans letter to the Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court caught my eye. The ex-cricketer and chief of his newly-formed Tehrik-
i-Insaaf has complained about the harassment he is receiving from various
intelligence agencies. Welcome to the club, Imran. I know that advising him
has become a cottage industry among my tribe of columnists, but now that he
has taken the plunge into the sleazy world of politics, he should know that
he will henceforth have to accept surveillance, phonetaps and irritating
pinpricks from officialdom as part of his life. In fact, it is almost a
truism to say that politicians of all stripes are followed and bugged, and
I do not exclude important members of the ruling coalition.
After all, intelligence outfits have to justify their existence and bloated
budgets. Just to recap, we have the CID, CIA, FIA, IB, MI and the ISI to
keep an eye on civilians. True, the original mandate of the last two was
entirely military and strategic, but along the way, a succession of leaders
decided they werent getting enough information on their opponents, and
gradually expanded the sphere of their activities. Since our rulers have
long decreed that dissidence and opposition are synonymous with treason, it
follows that those who are against the government of the day are traitors
to be tracked, harried and where possible, jailed.
And because our security services are perceived to underpin the government,
nothing is too good for them. Pampered and cosseted, their agents are the
elite among public servants. With ever-expanding but unaudited budgets,
their numbers swell every year despite the sporadic ban on government
hiring. Their officers are allocated perks and allowances far beyond what
their lowly colleagues in other services enjoy. They exercise enormous
clout that enables them to get priority in housing schemes, and whatever
other benefits they can derive. Above all, they are above the law as they
go about infringing the fundamental rights of thousands of citizens like
Imran Khan.
But at the end of the day, their output remains unquantified and
unquantifiable, unless stereotyped reports of the telephone conversations
and the movements of politicians and senior civil servants can be seen as a
national asset. If our sleuths were to restrict their time and attention to
the daily incidents of terrorism, random violence, rampant corruption and
drug-smuggling that have warped our society, I would have applauded their
efforts. But they have been directed to concentrate on the activities of
politicians instead, and the result of these skewed priorities is before
us.
In order to gain favour with the rulers of the day, agencies weave
intricate webs of conspiracies and plots to play upon the paranoid
tendencies of insecure politicians. Once they swallow these theories, they
are hooked. Every chance meeting of opposition leaders is twisted into a
diabolical plan to destabilise the government; the most innocuous telephone
conversation is closely studied for clues of conspiracy. The results of
these half-baked, self-serving analyses are then sent to the chief
executive of the day with recommendations to step up surveillance.
This chain of thought reminds me of the story about the man who used to go
around the city snapping his fingers. When somebody asked him why, he
replied: To keep the elephants away. When the curious fellow pointed out
that there were no elephants within hundreds of miles, the man replied
triumphantly: See how effective my trick is! Similarly, our omnipresent
agencies invent non-existent dangers and then claim to have thwarted them.
Unfortunately, they are unable to anticipate or penetrate genuine
conspiracies. When Benazir Bhuttos first administration was ignominiously
bundled out in 1990, she was the last major player to know about it.
Granted that the ISI was apparently in on the Aslam Beg-Ghulam Ishaq plot,
but other agencies should have warned the prime minister. Similarly,
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was given no hint as to the extent of the forces
arrayed against him in 1977, or about the groundswell building up against
his government in cities across the country. The PNA movement continued for
months without our intelligence agencies being able to give any useful
advice to the government. Equally crucially, General Jilani, the Director
General of ISI, advised Bhutto to appoint Zia COAS on the grounds of
personal loyalty.
In all these turning points in our history, our secret services had no clue
about what was going on. Nevertheless, they have continued to influence and
misguide politicians virtually at will by exploiting their feelings of
insecurity. Even elected leaders quickly forget that they owe their
position and their power to the people, and become totally dependent on the
intelligence community for support and advice. However, when the chips are
down, these props are exposed for the fragile reeds that they really are.
Imran Khan has boasted of the many retired and serving technocrats,
generals and civil servants who have rallied to his banner. He should
beware of the natural bias this community has towards secret files and
bureaucratic fudging. By assuring him that they know the inner working of
government and will thus guide him to power, they may well gain the ear of
an inexperienced and rather naive aspirant to power. This is the first step
towards dependency on the very agencies Imran is complaining about today.
The fact that his early mentor in politics was none other than a pan-
Islamic ex-Director General of the ISI is replete with irony.
How often we have seen politicians in the wilderness railing against the
oppression of the government. But as soon as they come to power themselves,
they use the very same tools of oppression, and the same intelligence
agencies to bully and browbeat those opposing them. Being a cynic, I wonder
how long it would take for our shadowy sleuths to convince Imran to crack
down on his political enemies on the grounds of national security if he
were ever to come to power.
These tactics will only be shunned by those in power if and when democratic
values are truly absorbed, and when the opposition is allowed to play its
proper role.
Equally, the opposition will have to accept the right of the party in power
to serve its term without constant attempts to topple it through extra-
constitutional means. Until this happens, Imran Khan will have to put up
with the harassment he may now be undergoing.

960516
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Pakistan team for England on 21
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Sports Reporter
KARACHI, May 15: The Chairman of the National Selection Committee, Dr Zafar
Altaf, confirmed that the team for the England tour will not be named on
Saturday.
"We are meeting to discuss various things and have four items on the
agenda," Altaf said from Islamabad, adding: "The team for the England tour
will be announced on May 21."
"Besides the captain, the manager will also be invited on Tuesday and minor
changes might be made in consultation with him. The manager will only be
invited if the Council had announced him before 21st," Altaf clarified.
Altaf, about the agenda, said the committee will discuss the fitness and
psychology of the players, and handling of the British Press besides the
selection of 17 players for the tour.
About the composition of the team, Altaf said it would comprise eight
batsmen, two wicketkeepers, two spinners and five bowlers. "In eight
batsmen, there might be three openers or even two. The fact of the matter
is that in a place like England, every batsman should have the ability to
play the moving ball because the conditions are wet there. So it doesn't
make any difference if we selected two openers or three."
Altaf said his committee wanted to induct fresh blood in the team but while
doing so wanted to keep the balance of the team. "We are not only looking
for the England tour but also for future assignments.
The Chief Selector, however, confirmed there would be modifications in the
team for the one-day series. "We will make a few changes and will send some
one-day specialists because they are in the last phase of the tour. In
addition to this, we have to play one-day tournaments in Canada, Kenya and
Sharjah before travelling to Australia for World Series Cup."
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960512
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Wasim confident about his role as captain
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Sports Correspondent
ISLAMABAD, May 11: Pakistan cricket captain Wasim Akram has said that he is
glad that Pakistan Cricket Board has shown confidence in his captaincy and
he has enough time to try out various theories and other stuff in the team
before the England tour begins. The skipper was talking to this
correspondent at the end of the second days trials at KRL cricket field,
on Saturday.
Im glad that they have done such a thing and the boys have backed me up,
because the captain needs stable conditions to try out different theories
for which I think I have enough time to do that.
About his own fitness Wasim said that gradually he is improving and by the
time the English tour starts he will find his rhythm. We have more than 15
days in England to gear up for the game, he said.
The total count at the national trials termed as `re-grouping reached 24
out of the 41 invited by selection committee at KRL.
During the evening session Wasim Akram played some aggressive strokes,
including hitting a towering six while Waqar Younis, the recipient of Pride
of Performance Award was seen in full flow. Ejaz Ahmed, Rashid Khan, Mustaq
Ahmed looked fit, while Saeed Azad, and Azam Khan struggled and they may
adjust to the conditions.
Col. Noushad, member selection committee indicated that the re-grouping
process may be wound up after the morning session on Sunday if more players
do not participate. We will have a morning session with the players who
have joined, we will look into all the aspects to see if another session is
required in the evening, he said at the close of second days session
here.
The selector added that the main objective for the re-grouping was to try
to get the right adjustments while assessing the team from various angles
which includes fitness, cricketing potential etc. We have to make certain
adjustments and accordingly besides, watching the established cricketer,
their fitness, we are also watching youngsters to finalise the team.
The re-grouping is also aimed at trying to tap potential all- rounder in
order to fill in the void created by Imran Khans retirement. The selector
stated that it was one of the important reasons and owing to forthcoming
load of one-day games, the committee is also looking into tapping
promising all rounder. We have a number of one-day games during the tour,
and naturally, we are looking into this aspect of the team which is a must
to win matches, he said.
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960514
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Inzamam surprises all with his fitness
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Sports Reporter
KARACHI, May 13: Inzamamul Haq surprised all and sundry at the National
Stadium when he appeared for United Bank in the Pentangular Cup final in a
new style.
Inzamam, who was facing axe from the England tour because of doubts over
his fitness, shocked the followers of the game when he appeared in a
physical shape he has never been in his career.
The Multan batsman has lost more than 20 pounds of weight while his waist
has been reduced to 35 from 38.
The once burly batsman showed no signs of any knee injury when he remained
in the field throughout Allied Banks innings and even picked up two good
catches. He was not only sharp in the slips, he was agile in the close-in
position on the bowling of Tauseef Ahmad and Mohammad Husain.
A few sprints before the ball further confirmed that he has completely
recovered from the injury that had been hampering him for the past couple
of years.
I was not relaxing in Multan as rumours were. I was training and really
training hard because I had realised that if I would be dropped it would be
because of fitness and not form, Inzamam said.
The batsman with a Test average of 44 said he not only trained for four
hours daily, he also controlled his diet. I am not taking any food which
is increasing my calories or fats. I am also not eating up to my throat
because I realise that my physique responds immediately to rich or heavy
food.
Inzamam, after the close of play on the opening day, went to PIA Squash
Complex for physical session of two hours. I am determined to get even
fitter because I have now reached the conclusion that the knee injury I had
was only because I was overweight.
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960511
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International hockey Preparing for Junior World Cup contest
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A. Majid Khan
Though we had reclaimed the seniors World Cup hockey at Sydney in 1994
after a lapse of 12 years, the juniors (under-21) World Cup has yet to be
regained as Pakistan had miserably failed to do so in its previous four
attempts.
Having won the inaugural 1979 juniors World Cup, Pakistan finished third
thrice in 1982 at Kuala Lumpur, in 1985 at Vancouver and in 1989 at Ipoh.
In 1993, however, we managed to reach Barcelona juniors World Cup final to
get the silver medals. Pakistan juniors performance in the four successive
cups was doubly disappointing as despite tall claims we could not recapture
the title.
In the absence of any systematic or objective study one can assume that
there had been something wrong in spotting talented youngsters for final
selection of a Pakistan side and also in the management and training of our
players resulting in our four successive failures.
Next year the sixth juniors World Cup will be staged in England.
Preparations for raising a winning combination had been put in operation
for about two years by providing foreign tours to our juniors which
included participation in the world youth hockey festival which Pakistan
won at Islamabad last year.
The juniors teams first target is a qualification round during the coming
11-nation Juniors Asia Cup, scheduled at Singapore, from May 29.
Three teams will qualify from the Asia Cup for the 1997 Juniors World Cup
in England to be contested among nine nations which included Germany,
Australia, the Netherlands, being the most formidable challengers to the
three Asian qualifiers.
The 11-nation in the run for three qualifiers places at Singapore are
Pakistan, India, South Korea, Malaysia, hosts Singapore, Japan, China,
Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lank and Thailand.
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960514
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Soccer jr teams to take part in Asian contests
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*From Our Sports Correspondent
LAHORE, May 13: Pakistan under 16 teams and under 19 football teams will
take part in the Asian Junior Championships to be held in June and July.
After three-day trials, 37 probables out of 100 players were picked for
camp training. After a series of trials to be held during the next eight
days, 25 boys will be picked out of them. Eight under 19 players have
already been chosen who will be part of the Pakistan team. The rest of the
players for the two junior teams will be selected out of those 25 players.
Pakistan under 16 team will take part in the Seventh Asian Under 16
Football Championship to be held in Pakistan in June.
Two matches will be held at Peshawar while one will be organised in some
other city, which is yet to be selected. Besides Pakistan, India and
Maldives will also take part in the competition.
The Asian Under 19 Football Championship will be organised by India in
July. The detailed programme is being finalised.
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960512
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Jansher wants to stay in top form for some years
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Ahmad Hassan
PESHAWAR, May 11: World squash champion Jansher Khan is leaving here for
Cairo on Wednesday (May 15) for participation in the 1,00,000 U.S. dollars
Egypt Open scheduled for May 17 to 22.
Informally talking to newsmen at a local hotel on Saturday, where the world
champion was guest of honour of the Servis Industries, he said he was
confident to continue his present form and winning spree for another five
to six years and would like to bring the country as many laurels which no
other player will be able to break. Giving reasons for reducing
participation in the world circuit tournaments to 8 from an average of 12
he said he wanted to play only in top contests which carry high prize money
and maximum points so as to keep his number one position in the world
ranking.
Jansher Khan further said after the Egypt Open which would be the last big
tournament of the present circuit, he would be going to U.S. Open in the
next circuit starting from July.
Responding to a question, the world champion expressed his optimism that a
couple of young squash players from Pakistan, would emerge on the
international circuit in next few years to give a hope of retaining the
world championship when he passes his climax and has to quit. Presently, he
said all the world top rankings from 2 to 9 were dominated by players other
than Pakistans.
Explaining reasons for his participation in Egypt Open Jansher said it was
for gaining maximum points since the tournament carried maximum prize
money, even more than the coveted British Open. He expressed confidence
that his number one position will not change in the upcoming circuits since
he was 400- 500 points ahead of number 2.
To a query, Jansher said in his meeting with Pakistan Squash Federation
(PSF) president Air Chief Marshal Abbas Khattak the other day, he was given
an assurance that his suggestions for the improvement of the game would be
given due weightage. He said he had advised the PSF to send junior players
to participate in tournaments abroad to get maximum playing experience
instead of featuring more and more within the country. When questioned
about his reluctance to the proposal forwarded to him by the PSF president
to contribute 5% of his income towards the promotion of squash in the
country, he said, in fact he had said that he was too busy on the
international circuit right now and cannot make himself available in
personal participation in the games promotional activities. So far as the
contribution of money was concerned, he said he was ready to go by the
suggestion. All he desired was that squash championship should be retained
by the country even if he was out of form and game and he would do his best
to this end.
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960512
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Pakistan spikers rout India, bag trophy
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Farhana Ayaz
ISLAMABAD, May 11: Pakistan Greens by routing India 3-0 in the final of the
Quaid-i-Azam International Volleyball tournament today proved that their
victory over the archrivals in the penultimate round was no flash in the
pan. The gathering at the Liaquat Gymnasium gave a sonorous applause to the
home team as it upset the applecent of the archrivals.
Pakistan took just 51 minutes to demolish India in clean straight sets 15-
5, 15-4, 15-2. At no stage during the game the traditional rivals could
match the aggression of the hosts. By comparison the opening set produced
the best game from the opponents who obviously struggling mainly owing to
defective reception kept Pakistan engaged for 23 minutes. The Indians
were so low in spirits that they gave away as many as five points due to
their own mistakes.
The Greens spikers, on the contrary, blocked three opponents first attacks,
including the set point against 5, over the net to completely shackle their
side.
The story of Indian setback continued in the second set with much greater
force, as Pakistan grabbed the set in 17 serves in 13 minutes with southpaw
Ghulam Abbas and Mazhar Hussain shining with seven points.
The chances of a fightback from the opponents turned dim once Pakistan
built a 6-0 lead following which Indias Kamal Singh won a service point
while a Reddy-Thulasi blocking made it 2-6, but that was all India could
get as the vibrant Greens spikers, encouraged by home crowd, ran away with
the set and the final at 15-2.
As reported earlier, Indias complete reliance on spiker Amir Singh to
receive the ball proved a loss, as the spiker struggled with an aggravated
right shoulder muscle injury. He was replaced in the second set and
reintroduced in the third but failed to produce anything spectacular.
Secretary Sports and Culture, Hassan Raza Pasha, gave away the medals and
trophy at the end.